


hopeful beginnings

by sleepoverwork



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes is a Mess, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Gen, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Not Canon Compliant, POV Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Relationship, Tony Stark Has A Heart, do not copy to another site, it's not mentioned but it's there so i tag it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepoverwork/pseuds/sleepoverwork
Summary: Tony Stark keeps trying to meet the former Winter Soldier and keeps finding himself, possibly, being avoided. That is until they meet in a spectacular way.Also Natasha needs to keep her knowing smirk to herself, but that's later.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 87
Collections: Winteriron Winter Stockings 2020





	hopeful beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Faustess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faustess/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Faustess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faustess/pseuds/Faustess) in the [winteriron_winter_stockings_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/winteriron_winter_stockings_2020) collection. 



> The prompt “Did you break the coffee maker?!” “No. It broke itself.", for Faustess.

When James Barnes comes to recovery at Avengers Tower after the whole fallout of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony is in the middle of strong handing his shareholders to let him absorb the personnel who lost their job abruptly as well as push a recovery effort due to the destruction the battle has caused. Obviously, it was no fault to Tony, mind you, as he honestly tried to meet the man as soon as possible. Not try to force a meeting of course, but nudge them into an innocent meeting of two people who live in the same roughly-1000-foot tower. Tony did eventually have J.A.R.I.S. start to notify him whenever the man was in a common area. It just so happened that every time Tony went to go meet the guy, Barnes had already vanished. 

It was as baffling as it was impressive.

“Am I being avoided?” Tony asked as he sat on the couch where Natasha was painting her toenails. She hummed in what Tony could only assume was a thoughtful matter and stopped painting to blow at the nails. It was really quite a beautiful light blue that seemed to shimmer with the afternoon light.

“Specifically? No. He seems to be avoiding everyone,” Natasha said as she finally looked up at him. Then she put out her hand and stated, “Nails.”

Tony blinked at her but ultimately handed his hands over to her. She considered them before placing his right one down and began her work on his left one. Considering he had just come up from the workshop, which he then detoured to the shared gym and unsuccessfully found it to be empty when he was just notified it wasn’t three minutes prior, his fingernails still had grease and other gunk under them.

Natasha didn’t seem to mind and an hour later Tony’s fingernails were perfectly done and matching her nails.

Finally, two months, a week, and four days from when the Winter Ghost arrived, not that Tony was counting of course, he found himself face to face with Barnes. Well, face to back to be precise. Add on the lovely addition of the coffee machine making a mixture of ear piercing screeches. 

“Did you break the coffee maker?!” 

“No-” was Barnes's immediate response. 

Tony ran over and pushed the man aside to take a look at his precious coffee machine.

“You poor abused beauty,” Tony cooed at the machine. “What did the grouchy old man do to you. Tell your best friend Tony, I would never treat you so unjustly.”

“It broke itself.” Tony heard the man grumble and when he turned to look at Barnes, the man was glaring a hole into the ground. “I didn’t even touch it. I found it like that.”

“Oh… Well, apology accepted,” Tony said in lieu of anything better, turning back to the coffee machine to fiddle with it. He could see Barnes shifting into his peripherals. He kept fidgeting, which with Tony being hyper aware he was there and the constant motion in the corner of Tony’s vision was starting to get distracting.“Barnes-” the man jumped to attention, “can I help you?”  
“No?” He replied and then quickly continued looking way too earnest for fuck-o’clock in the morning, “Will the coffee machine be okay? It’s not broken-broken right?” He looked anywhere but at Tony, brow furrowing as he resumed his fidgeting. 

Tony must have been silent too long, and probably staring dumbly, because the man eventually peaked and hesitantly added, “Stark?”

“Hmmm? Oh yeah-” Tony turned back towards the machine so fast he heard his neck give a small crack from the whiplash. He could feel cheeks heating up. “Yeah she’s fine Barnes. Just a bit cranky and under appreciated by the heathens who live here.” Tony went for a teasing tone, determined not turn back towards the grown ass man who was either a manipulative bastard or worst, the fucking personification of those Renaissance painted angels. Who the fuck just casually blinks up through their eyelashes at people? Also how the hell did he manage to pull off somehow looking up at Tony while being at least three inches taller?

“Oh. That’s good.”

By some miracle, Barnes stayed still in silence while Tony put the finishing touches and the machine started gurgling to life.

“Uh-” Tony blurted, the very picture of elegance, “So you eat eggs?” Tony busied himself with grabbing two mugs from the cabinet above him, instead of slapping his forehead and wincing at his tongue tripping over itself.

“Yes?” 

“Cool. I’m making some,” Tony said, poured two cups of coffee, and shoved one into Barnes chest before squatting to grab the first pan he could find, which just happened to be the biggest one. 

“Oh. Okay.” 

Tony just nodded and went to fetch the container of eggs, returning to find Barnes adding half a spoon of sugar to Tony’s mug, just the way he took it. 

Tony opened his mouth when Thor announced himself with his usual exuberance.

“Friend Anthony is frying eggs!”

“For everyone?” Steve added, giving Tony a bashful smile and then turning to give Barnes a nod.

“Make me two,” Natasha swept in behind them, before pointedly looking between Tony and Barnes to raise a perfectly threaded eyebrow. Tony glared at her, which of course only served to make her mouth curl up into a smirk. Luckily, before she could make a comment, there was a series of bangs and groans before a dirt covered Clint dropped from the ceiling, landing on his back right behind Barnes,

“Coffee me,” he wheezed out from the floor.

They all stood there a moment to stare up at the new hole Clint had made from the stove’s ventilation. 

Tony pointedly turned to Barnes- “Like I said, heathens,” which got the stunning visual of Barnes laughing so hard he ended up spilling hot coffee on Clint.

Tony was getting a half full mug but somehow he wasn’t too upset about that.


End file.
